Manchester City finally got the apology it had been waiting for on Tuesday when striker Carlos Tevez said he was sorry for his behavior over recent months, setting up a possible return to action at the Premier League club.

The Argentine striker also withdrew his appeal against a gross misconduct charge handed to him after he spent three months in his homeland without the club's permission.

"I wish to apologize sincerely and unreservedly to everybody I have let down and to whom my actions over the last few months have caused offence," Tevez said in a club statement.

"My wish is to concentrate on playing football for Manchester City Football Club," added the 28-year-old, who has not played for City since refusing to warm up in September's Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.

City manager Roberto Mancini, who after the events in Germany said Tevez was "finished" at the club, has previously suggested the striker could play again if he simply apologized.

City said the striker had begun a training program "designed to return him to optimum fitness".

The return to Manchester and the apology are the start of the major bridge-building Tevez needed to do before any possible appearance in a sky blue shirt. He did not help his cause when he accused Mancini last week of treating him "like a dog" in Munich.